


rose tea, rose glasses

by Khismer



Series: rika week 2k17 [4]
Category: Mystic Messenger (Video Game)
Genre: Gen, V Route Spoilers, rika week, technically no pairing but also saeran is Very interested in mc and rika is growing interested, up to the end of day 6
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-30 18:19:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12114477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khismer/pseuds/Khismer
Summary: "You, and the person I mentioned... enjoying food and talking with only the most important people to me... Yeah, that's how it will be. I hope that day comes someday...!"Ray talks with one of his most important people. The savior listens.





	rose tea, rose glasses

The lull in conversation is comfortable, punctuated by the gentle clinking of spoons against porcelain and soft warbling of nighttime creatures. 

It’s a particularly lovely batch of tea today, tinted violet from the petals of the roses that grow in this very garden. She chooses which particular blossoms will be used for the pair of them -- although she leaves the actual preparation of the tea to someone else, of course. 

Ray, seated across from her, seems to be enjoying it, just as she does, although his cup contains several heaping spoonfuls of sugar more than hers. 

When she’d chided him gently that he should take care to savor the natural sweetness of the tea, he’d looked so sorrowful that she couldn’t help but laugh and rescind her scolding. “If it makes you happy…” she’d said, and he beamed with grateful relief. 

It's pleasantly warm tonight, and the breeze is heavy with the garden’s many flowers. All in all, a lovely night for tea. But there is more to settle than just idle conversation. 

“You seem pleased,” she says, setting her cup delicately on its saucer. “More than usual. I'm glad to see you in such high spirits, but I suspect there's something more than the success of our plans behind that, hmm?”

Not that she has any doubts that this is true, nor, indeed, does she have to wonder what else might be the cause of his happiness, given how  _ enthusiastically  _ he's been describing their newest resident to her. Still, she's not yet sure whether he's aware of how… deeply he's been affected by this. She'd like to hear it in his own words. 

He sets his cup down hastily, eager to respond. 

“Everything is going exactly as you said, savior. They haven't realized a thing, and they may even be on the path to salvation sooner than we’d hoped. And she…” He cuts himself off and averts his eyes slightly. Is he flushed? How interesting. “...she plays her part well,” he says. 

Rika rests her chin on her hand, leaning forward slightly, and Saeran takes this as his cue to elaborate.

“It's only been a few days, but most of them trust her already. She's… very admiring of the game, but determined to root out their secrets. She trusts that I'm -- that this is real. She can tell that that traitor is hiding something--” His face twists in disgust before he smooths his expression. “...but, she's coaxed out information from him. She hasn't spoken a word of Magenta. And…” He bows his head shyly. “...she's kind. She listens to what I say, follows everything I request of her. She even asks about me. Everything about her feels… _warm_.”

His voice has diminished to a reverent whisper by the end of it. He raises his head now, meeting Rika’s gaze. “I think you'll like her, and I'm sure she'll adore you.”

He glances around the garden, a gentle, absentminded smile growing as his eyes linger on stems heavy with deeply-blooming flowers. 

“...I think she'd like it out here. I want to show her the gardens, with your permission. Maybe… one day she could join us here, for tea?” His expression is hopeful. 

Rika chuckles. “If she's as lovely as you say, I'm sure she'd make a wonderful addition to our meetings.”

Rika takes another sip of tea and sets the cup down, nearly empty, but the motion does not go unnoticed, and he halts whatever he was going to say. “--ah, Savior, forgive me.” 

He stands and takes hold of the ornate teapot, then circles the table to stand beside her. With delicate motions, he fills her cup with the fragrant liquid. 

When he begins to rise, she places a hand on his arm. “Ray.” He holds the teapot steady and looks at her with open curiosity. “I'm looking forward to meeting her,” she says simply. 

And it's true. In fact, she believes she should pay a visit to this girl who has so thoroughly ensnared his attention, shouldn't she?

His eyes widen, and then his face splits into a beatific grin. “I'm glad, Savior, I'm… so glad.”

He's so excited, he trembles slightly, and so she touches the teapot gently to remind him to set it down. 

“Be careful not to distract yourself from your goals, Ray,” she warns, and then she smooths her hand down his arm to settle over his hand. “...but it's nice to see you brought to such happiness.” 

She lets her hands rest in her lap now. “Remain diligent, and they will  _ all  _ be brought to happiness at last.”

He nods, but asks, childish in his uncertainty: “And she…”

“Will remain as a source of your happiness, as long as she is loyal to us. And  **so** she  _ will _ stay, won’t she?”

His nod is fervent now. “Thank you, Savior,” he says, voice dripping with desperate gratitude. “I won't fail you. They will all join us in paradise.”

And she smiles. 

**Author's Note:**

> i don’t drink tea so i have no idea how rose tea tastes. good, i hope? at least it’s pretty, anyway.


End file.
